How Much Is Too Much Development? Tempers Flare At Cupertino Council Meeting June 14 2006 - KGO - It's a debate that is being repeated in communities across the Bay Area. Just where should a city draw the line on development? Homeowners feel their entitled to a say, but increasingly buying into a city doesn't mean buying a voice. At the Cupertino City Council Meeting in March, tempers flared over the construction of hundreds of condos and townhomes in and around the Vallco Fashion Park Shopping Center. Shipla Joshi, Cupertino resident: "Our city manager, he encourages us to come together and organize -- we are doing that. Is our council listening to us? No." Dolly Sandoval, Cupertino City Councilwoman: "The five people up here I think have the economic interest of the city in mind." The next night, the frustration spilled over to an ABC7 Listens meeting. Many of the voices were from immigrants who were getting a lesson in civics. Rahul Vadodkar, Cupertino resident: "We saw 517 high density units passed by city council, despite an overwhelming majority of residents opposing it." The Vallco project is huge. There are plans to build a 211-room hotel, a 16-screen theater, an ice rink, a bowling alley, new restaurants and shops with thousands of feet of open space, playgrounds and even a daycare center. It's all being built over a five to ten-year period. Residents here worry this project will overwhelm a city of 52,000 people clogging roadways and crowding schools. But without this project, the residents of Cupertino may face severe budget cuts in the future. Cupertino Director of Community Relations Steve Piasecki has heard the complaints. He sees the Vallco project another way -- existing homeowners alone just don't bring in enough tax money to pay the city's bills. It all comes down to Proposition 13. Steve Piasecki, City of Cupertino: "Small single family housing loses money for the city, especially older housing that was pre-Prop 13 or frozen under Prop 13 era." Proposition 13 was passed in 1978. It severely limits property tax increases. So local governments around the state are scrambling for other ways to make money. Terry Christensen, SJSU Political Science Professor: "Housing doesn't pay for itself in terms of services. It doesn't generate enough property tax money and cities only get a small share of property tax money anyways." San Jose State Political Science Professor Terry Christensen has been watching what's happening in Cupertino and around the state. He says, unless residents are willing to pay higher property taxes, city governments have no choice but to go where the money is. Terry Christensen: "Commercial property generates more revenue because it generates property tax and sales tax, and they are about equally important to most local governments." Christensen says condos, like the ones proposed at Vallco, are better for the city's bottom line. That's because condos tend to sell more often than single family homes and generate higher taxes with each sale. Combining retail stores with condos gives cities two sources of income in one place. Condos also tend to be more affordable than single family homes. Terry Christensen: "We're running out of land and the land that we have is so expensive that if you build a single family home on a traditional lot the price is way beyond what maybe five percent of Bay Area residents could possible afford." Those arguments may carry weight with city officials, but people who live near the proposed Vallco project still are not convinced it's in their best interest. Martin Yu, Cupertino resident: "I see the objections to the Vallco condo project is so overwhelming, but for the council members they seem to not hear anything." But you can make a difference. Professor Christensen recommends getting involved early when cities are planning a project that affects you. By the time it comes up for a vote, most local governments have already made up their minds. Click here for information on our next ABC7 Listens meeting. You can watch video of our ABC7 Listens meeting in Cupertino, courtesy of the City of Cupertino Web site. Click here and scroll down to "other city channel programs and events" to watch the video. Written and produced by Ken Miguel.